Episode 407

Episode 407

“Then let’s… try handling mercury.”

Professor Reji said, masking his reluctance.

“Wow… thank you.”

Student Lee Han also said, masking his reluctance.

A hut where no one was happy. Only Professor Voladi was satisfied.

• * *

Professor Voladi was not originally a talkative person.

But standards are relative.

With Lee Han, Professor Reji, and a basilisk in egg-state together in a remote hut, Professor Voladi became the most talkative one.

“Transformation magic is important for battle mages.”

“Yes.”

“As I said before…”

Professor Voladi explained how useful transformation magic was in combat.

Quick casting and low mana consumption.

Rather than strengthening defenses and offense one by one with enchantment magic, it was much easier to transform roadside bushes into steel blades to stab an enemy. The core of magical combat was its efficiency.

And that wasn’t all.

Some transformation mages who reached a certain level could change nearby objects into living creatures or transform themselves into monsters without even using summoning magic.

Professor Voladi gave an extended lecture, urging them to imagine all these achievements.

He himself spoke calmly, but to the dejected Lee Han, it sounded long-winded.

‘If I could transform into a basilisk, would it be considered an accident even if I accidentally devoured a professor?’

“But Professor, doesn’t mercury have toxicity?”

“That’s right.”

Even transformation mages didn’t create every material in the world at random.

In fact, the more advanced transformation mages were, the more careful they were to recognize types of materials that could be poisonous.

If you accidentally transformed something hazardous without knowing and poisoned yourself…

“We have to learn how to handle it… but you should definitely learn poison resistance methods first.”

Answering Lee Han, Professor Reji suddenly had a good idea.

Learning the handling of mercury was important, but it was safer to know poison resistance first.

And the best way to acquire poison resistance?

“Poison resistance is more… black magic than transformation magic…”

“We learned poison resistance in the first semester too, Professor. Wardanaz is also taking black magic.”

“……”

“……”

At Professor Voladi’s reply, both Professor Reji and Lee Han wilted again.

The atmosphere in the hut turned awkward. Even the basilisk egg seemed awkward.

“Then… let’s just start with learning how to handle mercury…”

Professor Reji said, suppressing a sigh.

“Then I’ll be in your care.”

“?”

When Professor Voladi stood up and said that, Lee Han turned his gaze in surprise.

Huh?

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes. I have things to do.”

“Oh…”

Lee Han feigned regret. Professor Voladi nodded as if he understood.

“Don’t be impatient.”

“Haha. Understood.”

Lee Han even saw Professor Voladi out the door. Only then did he feel slightly relieved.

‘Wait. Professor Voladi doesn’t have that much to do, does he?’

Come to think of it, Professor Voladi currently only had Lee Han as a student.

A foreboding sense of the future arose, but Lee Han pushed it away. Maybe because he was learning foresight magic, he felt these ominous forebodings kept clouding his mind.

“Whew.”

As Lee Han let out a bitter sigh of relief, Professor Reji was slightly puzzled.

He didn’t understand why Lee Han would sigh in relief like that.

Wasn’t Wardanaz an ambitious one eyeing the principal’s seat, or higher, since the first year?

So why would he sigh like that?

‘Did I just see that wrong?’

Thinking so, Professor Reji took a reagent out of his pocket.

Huanghapcheol was easier to obtain and handle than mercury, but since it had good compatibility with mercury, it was an easy metal to convert.

Very convenient for beginner transformation mages.

“Oh no. I left my huanghapcheol behind.”

Lee Han’s face brightened.

“I’ll synthesize it right now…”

Lee Han’s face turned dark.

After similar incidents happened twice, Professor Reji couldn’t help but wonder.

…Surely not?

“You don’t really want to learn mercury transformation, do you?”

“What do you mean, Professor? I want to learn it. Are you perhaps not in the mood to teach today? If so, I can wait as long as you wish.”

A model answer came out as if waiting for the moment.

But Professor Reji wasn’t fooled. That response was exactly the way Professor Reji behaved when the skull principal gave troublesome orders.

-Professor Reji. I hear suspicious transformation mages are appearing in some northern noble territories. Could you visit during the break? Hmm, that’s not a great facial expression. You don’t really want to go, do you?

-What are you saying, Principal? I want to go. Are you perhaps not wanting to send me? If that’s the case, I’ll be glad to stay.

-Good. Have a safe trip.

-……

People of the same kind recognize each other.

Professor Reji sensed something powerfully from his student, something that couldn’t be explained logically.

…Surely?

“Mr. Lee Han. Answer honestly… no, it’s probably meaningless. Then just listen. I think I’ll skip mercury transformation for today.”

Lee Han didn’t protest, ‘How can you say that when I’m barely keeping up on my magical path?’

Instead, he stayed silent.

With certainty, Professor Reji was truly surprised.

To think the other person would have a personality so similar to his!

If so…

The culprit could only be the principal.

‘Really. That’s just too much.’

He’d always known the principal pushed students harshly, but to force them to take every school of magic?

Wardanaz was clearly enduring this harsh process not by choice, but just because of his talent.

It was both an amazing and truly pitiful story.

“I misunderstood. I thought you wanted to become the lord of Einrogard as the principal’s successor.”

“…What???”

Lee Han, who usually refused to answer, unwittingly blurted out.

What the heck?

“It must have been tough, having other professors press you like that when you didn’t even want to. How stressful it must have been.”

“I don’t really know what you mean. But I’m just grateful that you care, Professor.”

The two shared a meaningful conversation. As Lee Han was pleased, even the basilisk egg squirmed joyfully.

• * *

Upon hearing that this -Boltzmann’s Call- festival would be held at Einrogard, clueless wizards were delighted.

Wasn’t Einrogard the legitimate successor of imperial magic?

It was a place they might never get to visit otherwise.

But those who were well-connected or experienced were horrified.

-Why would they do it at Einrogard, of all places?

-I won’t even be able to breathe comfortably.

A naive layperson might not know, but the master of Einrogard was not friendly to other mages.

You could imagine it like a mage’s workshop.

Originally, a mage’s workshop was like a personal domain, full of secrets and mysteries, so there were lots of rules to be careful when visiting.

The more eccentric the workshop’s owner, the stricter the rules.

And Einrogard’s master was an infamously picky archmage.

-Do not go anywhere unauthorized. Also, even if something appears ownerless…

“I get it, I get it, I get it.”

After hearing the death knight’s warnings to the point of exhaustion, black mage Kutang shuddered and walked on.

‘Shouldn’t have come early, maybe?’

Nearby mages interested in summoning magic were making their way to Einrogard to attend the festival, but among them, Kutang was one of the first to arrive.

Mainly because he was a black mage.

If he traveled with other mages and made small talk along the way, it would just be awkward for everyone.

-I am Tadingo, studying summoning magic. I’ve been learning magic about seven years, taught by a master from the Untara Guild.

-Nice to meet you! I’m also Tadingo, studying summoning! I happened to get a grimoire and self-studied for about five years. By the way, may I ask your name?

-…I’m Kutang, studying black magic.

-…Ah. Um. Oh.

-B-black magic! I’ve always been interested. It’s, uh, an amazing school, isn’t it?

Trying to make small talk with mages who actually had no interest in black magic just made things worse.

This is why black mages avoided mingling with other mages.

‘I’d better avoid contact until the festival starts.’

Kutang thought so and looked for a remote place to wait.

The school was so vast, he felt he could just stay in a forest or mountain until it began.

Thud—

“!”

Kutang was startled.

Amazingly, some very young students were controlling a golem in a remote clearing in the woods.

‘As expected of Einrogard! They look less than half my age and they’re already…!’

He was even more surprised seeing them move around a hefty golem and getting chores done with it.

Usually, no ordinary mage used a golem for chores. Why bother making such a difficult-to-create, hard-to-control summon for simple chores?

There could be only one reason.

‘Training.’

They not only made a golem—they were using it for practice.

“Amazing!”

“A, an outsider!!”

Startled by the mutter of a White Tiger Tower student behind him, he shrieked.

Kutang was even more surprised by that.

“P-please calm down. I came in with permission! Here, the permit that Lord Gonadaltes gave me…”

When the White Tiger Tower students crowded around, forming a circle, Kutang felt huge pressure.

‘Why? Don’t they trust me? Did they realize I’m a black mage?’

Kutang tensed, concerned they might attack him for being a black mage.

“Um…”

“???”

“Do you have anything to eat?”

“……”

• * *

Kutang and the White Tiger Tower students quickly became friendly. Kutang was slightly touched by the students’ kind attempt to put an outsider at ease with their humor.

“You can eat slowly. I understand your sincerity.”

The White Tiger Tower students scarfed down the sweets, regardless of what Kutang said. They even wrestled to wipe cream off each other’s fingers.

‘…Does the school starve them?’

Unaware that he’d hit the nail on the head, Kutang asked a question.

“You were controlling a golem earlier—”

“Pff—”

“Cough. Cough, cough.”

The White Tiger Tower students broke into wild coughing fits.

“D-did you get those for controlling the golem so well?”

“Pardon? No.”

“Whew…”

“Thank goodness.”

“??”

Seeing the White Tiger Tower students sigh with relief, Kutang was puzzled.

Huh?

“I wanted to ask a bit about controlling golems…”

“Well, um.”

“We want to answer since you fed us, but, um…”

The White Tiger Tower students hesitated.

Surely they’re not about to tell me to spit it out?

“These were actually controlled by another friend.”

“…What? How did they control it when they’re not here?”

“Well, um… they left commands and left…”

The White Tiger Tower students explained as best they could.

Originally, it was standard for mages to control golems right beside them, but once Lee Han got the hang of it, for simple chores, he’d command the golem ‘finish up to here’ and then go elsewhere.

Hearing that explanation, Kutang was genuinely astonished.

‘He not only created a golem, he left it with maintained orders??’

Kutang wasn’t usually sociable, except for one circumstance.

When he saw something magically interesting, that was the exception.

“Thank you. This was truly interesting.”

“We really enjoyed the food, too!”

Having even heard Lee Han’s name, Kutang walked off, thinking he’d share this fascinating story with his fellow black mages.

Shortly after, Lee Han returned.

“Everything go okay?”

“A mage from outside who came for the festival dropped by for a look.”

“Other than that, nothing.”

“I see.”

Suddenly, Lee Han wondered at the vague foreboding crawling up on him.

‘What is it?’

Nothing about the situation should be strange.

‘Could it be Principal’s up to something suspicious?’